"Any luck with that Byers kid?" You asked as Hopper walked through the hallway with heavy feet.

"Oh, come on, not you too? He is a child... we all ran away at some point, didn't we? You know, we packed a little bag with some cookies, seventy-five cents and about enough clothes to last about half a day. We hid out at our friend's house for a bit telling their mom we wanted a sleepover and went back when we realised that one pair of underwear wasn't going too last forever." He tried to rub the tiredness from his eyes as he sat his brown, brimmed hat on the arm of his reclining armchair. "I'm not going to waste my time searching however many acres of forest for a kid who is going to end up knocking on the door tomorrow."

"I don't know Jim, we didn't all have the rebellious, running away from home childhood that you did, I only ever ran away once and that's because my mom said we were having meatloaf for dinner and after the day at school I had gone through that was not happening." Hopper smirked as he leaned back, head cushioned in his hands and legs supported, almost hovering in the air.

"And what did you do?" He gazed over with a hearty shrug. "Let me answer for you, you ran back home probably within... one, maybe two hours at a push and you enjoyed your microwaved meatloaf, didn't you?" Of course, you didn't want to admit that Hopper was right, but you still remember the taste of the reheated meatloaf every time you thought about it. "If he doesn't come back by the time, I finish work tomorrow I will stay late, open up an investigation and do whatever I can to commit to a thorough and in depth search, happy?" You stared at him with a stern face and raised brow until he turned to face you. "What do you want from me y/n?"

"I believe Joyce, Hopper. I've seen those kids around town from time to time and none of them seem like the type to just run away for no reason. So please if you love me at least go and speak to Joyce tomorrow and try to keep an open mind, I know it's hard with that thick skull of yours but please try your best." He rolled his eyes so hard he almost fell backwards out of the chair.

"Fine, if you want me to take up valuable police time so desperately with it, I will. But I swear if he just rocks up perfectly fine, as he will, you owe me."

~*~

Written by Aaron.